Opportunities, challenges and learnings from qualitative research with stakeholders in frailty in three European countries

ABSTRACT

The aims of this paper are to reflect upon the experiences of researchers involved in a cross-national qualitative study with stakeholders in three European countries (Italy, Poland and UK), within the context of the FOCUS project on frailty management and optimisation (see http://focus-aha.eu/en/home). Six researchers’ reflections were gathered using open-ended questions. Responses were thematically analysed. We report on our team diversity including cultural differences in epistemological stances and describe how working remotely challenged clear communication. We comment on linguistic issues, our data collection approaches and methods of analysis. However, we also reflect upon the ability of such projects to build knowledge, generate capacity and promote the value of qualitative research in healthcare across Europe. Finally, we advocate an approach to cross-national research that is as much about building a cohesive knowledge exchange network as it is about understanding the lives, perspectives and experiences of our stakeholders.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA) of the European Commission, under the European Union Health Programme (2014-2020). The studies discussed form part of a larger study, ‘Frailty Management Optimisation through EIP-AHA Commitments and Utilisation of Stakeholders Input’ [Grant number 664367 FOCUS]. Funding was also received from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland (funding in years 2015–2018 allocated for the international co-financed project). We acknowledge the contribution of other members of the FOCUS project: A. Cano (University of Valencia), A. Nobili (Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS Italy), A.González Segura (EVERIS Spain S.L.U, Spain), A. M. Martinez-Arroyo (ESAM Tecnología S.L., Spain), E. Bobrowicz-Campos (Nursing School of Coimbra, Portugal), F. Germini (formerly IRCCS Ca’Grande Maggiore Policlinico Hospital Foundation, Milan, Italy), J. Apostolo (Nursing School of Coimbra, Portugal), J.W. van’t Klooster (formerly Roessingh Research and Development, Netherlands), L. van Velsen (Roessingh Research and Development, Netherlands), M. Marcucci (formerly IRCCS Ca’Grande Maggiore Policlinico Hospital Foundation, Milan, Italy) and S. Santana (University of Aveiro, Portugal) who were co-responsible for the design and delivery of the FOCUS project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency [664637].

Notes on contributors

Holly Gwyther

Dr Holly Gwyther is a postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Ageing Research, Lancaster University. She is a Chartered psychologist. Her interests lie in a critical social psychological approach to the study of health, illness, ageing and wellbeing, although much of her work to date has its basis in models of health psychology. She is interested in intergenerational practice, social-community psychology and participatory, mixed-design research approaches.

Barbara D’Avanzo

Dr Barbara D’Avanzo has a degree in Philosophy and has been working in the field of epidemiology of mental health as a researcher at the Istituto di Richerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri in Milan since 1990. Currently her main interests are social determinants of mental health problems, consumers’ participation to care, research and evaluation, and psychosocial interventions in the field of adult, and older adult mental health. She is also a qualified and practicing counsellor.

Carol Holland

Professor Carol Holland is a Professor of Ageing within the Division of Health Research at Lancaster University, co-director for the Centre for Ageing Research (C4AR) and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health and Medicine. She is a psychologist with a career focusing on applied impacts of cognitive and health psychology of ageing, for example, impacts of functional memory on ability to engage socially and so links to loneliness, or effects of adding psychological, social and environmental aspects of frailty to the more commonly measured physical aspects. She increasingly works across disciplines and on synthesising outcomes of mixed methods research, and leads a range of projects that bring together a range of academic and non-academic expertise to address challenges of ageing.

Donata Kurpas

Dr Donata Kurpas is a senior researcher at Wroclaw Medical University, Poland. Her interests lie in primary health care (including the value of health care, quality of health care and indicators of health care effectiveness). She is interested in public health approaches to research and project design, as well as implementation of results in community-based programmes with the help of local stakeholders.

Maria Magdalena Bujnowska-Fedak

Dr hab. Maria Magdalena Bujnowska-Fedak is a specialist in family medicine and geriatrics, a director and family doctor in the Model Family Practice in Wroclaw at the Medical University of Wroclaw (WMU). Her research interests focus mainly on primary health care, inter-professional health communication and holistic care of older adults. She is currently deeply involved in research on the use of information and communication technologies in the comprehensive care of older adults.

Rachel L. Shaw

Dr Rachel L. Shaw is a Health Psychologist and Reader in Psychology in the School of Life and Health Sciences at Aston University, Birmingham, UK. She has expertise in applied qualitative health research, particularly using phenomenological methods. Dr Shaw’s research explores the relationships and communication between patients and families living with long-term conditions with health care professionals as well as communication strategies between different health care professionals. She also has expertise in evidence synthesis methodologies for the synthesis of qualitative and mixed methods studies. Dr Shaw has published widely and has several book chapters available in qualitative research methods textbooks in psychology.Her interests lie in qualitative and applied research around three key areas - health care and illness experience, phenomenology and lifeworld led care, and evidence synthesis. Rachel is known for her use of innovative methods.